Dead Cats Dead Rats Refresh Their Name, Sign to Ocelot Records and Get Real with "Raw" EP

DCDR's Raw EP out this November. Pre-order available now.

An uncompromising combination of 1990’s punk and grunge, and in the most effective manifestation of short bursts of adrenaline, Raw is Boston-based DCDR's best album yet.

Why So Serious Courage Cloak? Post-Rock Shoegaze with Hardcore Punk Roots

The debut S/T LP from Courage Cloak is available now.

When you mix 3/5 post-hardcore band Life & Limb with 1/5 of hardcore band Matahari, you get Boston’s post rock/shoegaze band, Courage Cloak.

Music Video: Mean Creek "Anxiety Girl"

Boston's Mean Creek have released a music video for "Anxiety Girl" off of the 2014 LP Local Losers (Old Flame Records). Catch them live on November 6th at TT the Bear's in Central Square, Cambridge with The Young Leaves, PUJOL and Screaming Females.

Rock Out With Your Cocktail Out Vol. XXIX

Garnish with cranberries and punk rock.

 

Did you know that songs featured in each edition of Rock Out With Your Cocktail Out are curated via upcoming concert calendars, college radio playlists and new local music? And did you also know that each cocktail has been personally tasted and approved by Bishop And Rook? We're like this super trustworthy BFF that stays on top of the scene and the bar to keep you current and inebriated. So make your fancy cocktail, press play, and look for these bands in a venue near you soon.

Sneeze + Raw Blow Fall Tour

Boston's post hardcore/grunge/punk/loud bands Sneeze and Raw Blow will be heading out on a fall tour beginning November 7th in support of their 2014 records Wilt and Slow Choke respectively. The 18-stop gallivant hits the East Cost and Midwest, ending in Harvard Square, Cambridge for a homecoming show at Charlies Kitchen on November 24th.

You can snag a free download (at a name your price donation) of Raw Blow's very new EP, Slow Choke, on Bandcamp now. And purchase Sneeze's Wilt LP for $10 via the band's Big Cartel site.

UPDATE 10/31/14:

One week before tour, Sneeze took to Facebook to report van loss.

"Our van was just totaled in a car accident yesterday morning. We leave in one week. Does anyone have any suggestions / willing to rent us their van? If you can help in anyway that would be awesome. Everyone involved in the accident is OK and we really don't want to cancel this! Thanks!"

Sneeze can be contacted via email at sneezeband@gmail.com.

No Sleep Records 2014 Fall Sampler

Huntington Beach, CA label, No Sleep Records, recently released their 2014 Fall Sampler which includes a track by Boston's Foreign Tongues. "Luxury", off of the 2014 The Felix Culpa / Foreign Tongues Split, is one of 18 tracks on this free, limited time digital download. Snag your copy here for free before they're gone.

'Bike. Barista. Bullshit.' This is Terrible Music

This is a mashup! Download your free copy on Bandcamp today.

Terrible (AKA Max Schaffer) worked as bike messenger for the summer. He drank a lot of coffee. He talked to a lot of baristas. He tried to weed out the bullshit from what he had learned in college. But mostly he just made this album for his friends to dance to.

Like most things, Terrible Music started for shits and giggles and eventually grew into Bike. Barista. Bullshit. (2014), the debut LP featuring 166 sample sources in 50 minutes, all at 130 beats per minute. A project that took 19 years of listening, three months of using (and crashing) Logic, and from what we can tell, a lot of caffeine.

Go To This Local Show

R'N'R Cat says go to a show.

Go to a show. A reminder to always visit the 'Go to This Show' tab above (link in the collapsible top navigation bar if you're a mobile user) for local flyers and show links, updated on the regular.

Follow Bishop And Rook on Facebook and Twitter for day-of reminders. View upcoming Boston-area shows now.

Kurt von Stetten's 9th Release, 'Animals'

The 9th full-length by Kurt von Stetten is available now.

Before anyone can even begin to reflect on Broken, But Not Undone’s one year anniversary, Kurt von Stetten has released a brand new LP because he can't stop, won't stop, and clearly has way more follow through than most people. Animals (Static Motor Recordings), is the Boston solo artist’s 9th full-length record. Since 2006 von Stetten has released a full-length album every year on which he plays every instrument.

Somos Joins the No Sleep Family

So much news! So much touring! So many links! Boston indie/emo band, Somos, announced today that they are the newest addition to the No Sleep Records family.

Five Boston Bands to See in October

Friends tell friends about good music. Five Boston bands to see before the end of the month.

Friends tell friends about good music, and hey, you seem cool. Out of the DOZENS of shows happening this month, we’ve pulled five must-see Boston bands you need to catch in person before the end of October. So immerse yourself in cultural activities, sleep when you're dead and go to a local show.

Support Music Education, Feed A Zombie

One day only in Central Square, Cambridge.

On Sunday, October 12th from 3-6pm, (ONE DAY ONLY YOU GUYS!!!), two zombies will be humanely chained to the patio at Thelonious Monkfish 524 Mass Ave, Central Square, Cambridge (the best damn sushi place in town) to benefit the Johnny Hodges Fund, a program designed to support the musical aspirations of Cambridge students.

Synopsis: It has been 10 long years since the Zombie Apocalypse. 80% of the human population has been infected, most succumbed to a dead-fall life...a life of the same boring routine of working day in and day out. Work, Eat, Sleep, Work, Eat Sleep. A life in which creativity, fun and joy were a long lost dream.

How can you help? You can buy Zombie Bits for a minimum donation of $5 and feed the Zombies.

Thelonious Monkfish in association with Trapped in a Room with a Zombie presents: Feed Our Zombies. A 1-Day Event in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Proceeds for the event will be used to support local musicians through the Johnny Hodges Fund...because Music Cures Zombism.

Learn more about the event at the official Thelonious Monkfish website.

Bugs and Rats "Adidas" LP Available on Vinyl

Purchase your limited edition pressing of Bugs and Rats Adidas vinyl now.

Lurking in the basements, blowing your eardrums out, Bugs and Rats Adidas Record is now available on vinyl via Feeding Tube Records, so get some. The Boston grunge rock trio’s 2010 11-track LP is underground noise rock at its finest and limited to 250 copies for your collecting pleasures. Bugs and Rats is part of the super expansive and slightly overwhelming Boston Hassle Fest 6 project featuring roughly 43 bands (we counted several times, we might have been a bit drunk, but still, that’s a lot of bands). An epic festival that is currently crowd sourcing an Indie Go Go donations account. Spare some change Mister?

Listen to the entire Bugs and Rats discography, including their 2014 S/T record, on Bandcamp and buy the Adidas Record on Feeding Tube Records today.

VUNDABAR / IDIOT GENES / BRAZIL @ GREAT SCOTT

Indie/surf band Vundabar is throwing a "goodbye" show with grunge rockers Idiot Genes (Eye Design Records) and experimental outfit Brazil on October 8th at Great Scott, Allston before they head off to Europe for a month-long tour.
They made a video about it.

The Offseason / Losing Streak Split

Pre-order your copy via Barrett Records now.

New music from Boston’s pop punkers The Offseason! Barrett Records (Ann Arbor, MI) will release a six-song split 10” with The Offseason and New Jersey’s Losing Streak later this fall. Pre-orders are available now for Transparent Electric Blue (limited to 125) and Transparent Kelly Green (limited to 125) vinyl. One lucky pre-orderer will receive a test press. Stream two tracks on Bandcamp now and head over to the Barrett Records site for purchasing details and other information.

Chaparrals' LP Release Show: Local Music, Local Food, Local Beer, No Cover

Local music, local food, local beer, no cover.

Local music, a food truck, a brewery and no cover. We could just stop there, but we'll also throw in a record release for good measure. On September 26th, indie band, Chaparrals, will be celebrating the release of their debut LP, Elpis, with Soft Pyramids and Kirk Swan Music (LA) at Aeronaut Brewing Company in Somerville.

Food will be available from Pennypackers Food Truck (specializing in Porchetta, sandwiches, house made sausages, soups, and salads) all night for purchase.

5:00pm - 11:00pm (Music from 8:00pm - 11:00p). Additional details can be found on the official Facebook event page. Snag a free download from Chaparrals and Soft Pyramids below and be on the look out for Soft Pyramids' record release show for Fossils of the Free World  October 3rd at Lilypad.

Rebuilder "Punkin' Spice Tour" This Fall

Hey ladies, Rebuilder is going on tour.

Always keeping it classy, Boston’s gnarly rock band, Rebuilder, has announced they will be hitting the road mid-October during the eleven-show, East Cost/Midwest "Punkin' Spice Tour" to promote their first full length record due out in early 2015. The soon-to-be released record will be recorded at Getaway Recording with Jay Maas (Defeater) and released by Panic State Records (NJ). The tour kicks off in Burlington, VT, crosses into Canada and ends in Baltimore, MD during the Feed the Scene Birthday Show with The Dead Milkmen, before playing their homecoming show at historic O'Brien's Pub in scenic Allston.

In lieu of a Kickstarter campaign to fund the new recording, people are encouraged to purchase merchandise that includes strategically placed Bill Murrays and Bill Cosbys, via Rebuilder’s Bandcamp page. Donations can also be made to refuserethinkrebuild@gmail.com via PayPal.

The 2014 Rock N Roll Rumble alumni's 2013 S/T EP and Rebuilder Christmas EP can be downloaded for free (at a name your price donation) on Bandcamp now. Follow Rebuilder on Facebook and Twitter for additional show and release information.

Listen to Rebuilder live on Boston Emissions with Anngelle Wood (9/14/14).

Tour Dates

October 16 242 Main Street Burlington, VT
October 17 Atomic Cafe, Montreal, QC, Canada
October 18 Hard Luck Bar Toronto, ON, Canada
October 19 Small’s Hamtramck, MI
October 20 Reggie’s Chicago, IL
October 21 Candlekeep House Cleveland, OH
October 22 TBA Pittsburgh, PA
October 23 House show Richmond, VA
October 24 The Hook Up Virginia Beach, VA
October 25 Metro Gallery Baltimore, MD w/ The Dead Milkmen
October 30 O’Brien’s Allston, MA

Treat Yo Self: Creative Industry Night & Onslo Tape Release Party & Free Nachos

All of this awesomeness happens 9.29 at Charlie's Kitchen.

Do we have a night for you?! A jam-packed event is packing into our jam, Charlie’s Kitchen, on Monday, September 29th. The first Treat Yo Self! to be held at the Harvard Square rocker bar (that serves excellent sangria), will feature live music from Sneeze, Onslo (Eye Design Records) and Zip-Tie Handcuffs. You know, that band that melted your face last week? Art from Brian Barresi Art (creator of this snazzy flyer), Kristina Denis Artwork, A RAFFLE because why not, and will celebrate the release Onslo’s S/T album, available on cassette tape at the show.

If you’re unreasonably hard to please that’s not enough, Charlie’s will be offering FREE nachos with a purchase of a beer. It sounded too good to be true, so we double checked. It's true.

We suggest you get there early for so many reasons, a major one being the max capacity of this room is 83 people. Fact. The second is probably, definitely free nachos. Show starts at 9pm, $5, 21+. Get full details on the official Facebook event page.

RAFFLE DETAILS!

You could win:

• Artwork
• Merch from each band
• 2 tickets to an upcoming show at O'Brien's Pub
• 2 tickets to the next Treat Yo Self!

Getting Personal with Promotions: A Boston Music Media Event

Join us for our next Boston Music Media Networking Event

We're excited to announce the second installment of Boston Music Media Networking with "Getting Personal with Promotions" on September 23rd at Middlesex Lounge, Central Square, Cambridge.

Discover how promotional organizations from the Boston area help bands grow in popularity by public relations, brand management, and distribution.

A panel of guest contributors from Midriff Records, Pirate! and Last Dance Productions will discuss the importance of business ethics, maintaining an artist/client balance, and how media outlets (like us) play an important role in growing/maintaining a band's audience as well as reputation and character. We'll open the floor to questions and have some networking time so you can meet other like-minded people in the industry! Don't forget your business cards.

This FREE event is open to all music media folks including but not limited to bloggers, podcasters, journalists, promoters and label/PR managers.

Bundles - S/T EP

The S/T debut EP from Boston's indie rock trio, Bundles, available now.

Maybe it’s my long-standing fondness for Jetavana Grove, but Bundles’ debut S/T EP is quickly moving up the submission food chain to becoming a top favorite for 2014.

Emerging from just below the radar at an accelerated pace, the Boston indie rock trio has played their first show, racked up appearances at several venues including The Cantab, O’Brien’s and Great Scott, and released a 4-song 7”, all within what seems to be a five month period.

But it was a strategic matter. Taking shape in the fall of 2013, Bundles quietly developed their sound before pressing a record and playing a sold out release show. After a lineup change earlier this year, bassist Brian Jones explains, “We decided it was time to record and hit the ground running. This whole thing was a long time coming. It just seems that things are starting to come together now.”

With lyrics so intensely fanatical that they're sung at a partially inaudible level, Bundles mirrors the feverish and desperate pleas of The Lawrence Arms. Painting a picture of a habitually plagued protagonist and representing the underdog endeavor with energetic and infectious live shows. Also, this mustache.

Rightfully hitting their stride, Bundles plans to continue writing and potentially release another EP in 2015. In the meantime, you can and should see them rock out at O'Brien's Pub in Allston on November 23rd with Astpai (Austria) and Art Thieves, and purchase their S/T 7" (available in coke bottle clear, white and black vinyl, limited to 300) on Bandcamp today. Follow Bundles on Facebook for additional show dates and release information.